Coating apparatus for disk-shaped workpieces

ABSTRACT

Coating apparatus for disk-shaped workpieces has a transport chamber with a workpiece transport configuration having two linearly driven transport rams connected to a rotational axis. The rams are within shell lines of a rotation body about the axis and are extended/retracted in the same direction as the axis. A workpiece receiver is at the ends of each ram and two operating openings communicate the transport chamber with stations of the apparatus including a coating station. Surface normals of the openings are in the direction of shell lines. A pump with pump opening communicates with the transport chamber and coating station. At least one of the rams has a closure for closing the pump opening and forming a seal therefor.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This is a divisional of application Ser. No. 09/886,678, filed Jun. 21,2001, and now U.S. Pat. No. 6,656,330, which claimed priority on Swissapplication 1233/00, filed Jun. 22, 2000, which priority claim isrepeated here.

FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention builds on the task (1) to reduce in the case ofcoating installations, for example with virtually continuous 24-hourproduction operation, the shutdown times for maintenance, such as, forexample, for replacing material sources consumed during the coatingprocess or other installation parts such as coating masks. Therein (2)the coating installation should be constructionally as simple andcompact as feasible.

Coating installations conventionally comprise a transport chamber,wherein, in the simplest case, workpieces are transported from aninput/output lock station to a coating station. They are therein coatedand subsequently transported back to the input/output lock station.Based on the requirement (2) for the simplest possible concept, a pumpunit is provided via a pump opening on the transport chamber, whichsimultaneously handles the evacuation of the treatment station. Thus, ininstallations of this type the transport chamber is also flooded duringthe flooding of the treatment station. Otherwise the coating stationwould need to be compartmentalizable with respect to the transportchamber by employing a relatively complicated valve device.

A critical extension of the production shutdown times during theflooding of coating station and transport chamber results therefromthat, together with the transport chamber, at least portions of the pumpunit flanged onto the pump opening are flooded. This leads, for one, torelatively long reconditioning times for the resumption of operation.For another, when, for example, turbovacuum pumps are provided on thepump unit, the latter would have to be compartmentalized against theflooding, which requires complicated and expensive compartmentalizationvalves.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The above cited task (1), namely minimizing shutdown timessimultaneously with generating (2) as simple as feasible an installationconfiguration with high production rate, is realized through aninstallation according to the claims.

Consequently, the coating installation according to the inventioncomprises a transport chamber with a workpiece transport configuration.The latter has at least two transport rams connected with a rotationalaxle driven under control, with transport rams, driven under control,which can be linearly extended and retracted. The transport rams aretherein in the shell line of one and the same rotation body about therotational axis and are, with respect to a given direction on therotational axis, extendable and retractable in the same direction. Eachram bears at the end a workpiece receiver. On the transport chamber arefurthermore provided at least two operating openings via which thetransport chamber communicates with stations, of which one is a coatingstation. The surface normals of the clearance areas of said operatingopenings are therein oriented in the direction of shell lines of therotation body.

Further provided on the coating installation according to the inventionis a pump unit, communicating with the transport chamber via a pumpopening, which is effective for the transport chamber as well as alsofor the coating station.

At least one of said rams has at the end a closure configuration or canbe equipped therewith. In order to optimize the simple installationconcept which, in all implementations of the coating installationaccording to the invention, permits extremely high production rates,also with respect to necessary production interruptions in connectionwith flooding, while maintaining the simple constructional concept, thepump opening is disposed on the chamber such that said ram can beoriented toward the pump opening, wherein the closure configuration,with orientation of said ram toward the pump opening and subsequentlyits moving, enters with the pump opening into an operational connectionforming a sealed closure.

With respect to the fundamental structure of the transport chamber withsaid rams, reference is made in particular to EP 0 518 109 correspondingto U.S. Pat. No. 5,245,736 and to DE-GM 29 716 440 corresponding to U.S.Pat. No. 6,416,640.

In a first embodiment of the coating installation according to theinvention the rotation body is a cylinder or a cone with an angle ofaperture <90°, and said rams, correspondingly, can be extended andretracted under linear driving parallel or at an obtuse angle withrespect to the rotational axis.

But in a preferred embodiment the rotation body is a special case of acone, namely with a 90° aperture angle φ, and the ram s project radiallyfrom the rotational axis. The operating openings and the pump openingcomprise therein surface normals which are in the rotational plane ofthe rams about the rotational axis.

Consequently, in the last mentioned, preferred embodiment the workpiecetransport configuration has at least two transport rams projectingradially from a rotational axle driven under control and linearlyextendable and retractable driven under control, which thus are in aplane perpendicular to the rotational axis. Again, at the end on eachram are provided corresponding workpiece receivers. Furthermore, inaddition, at least two operating openings, now disposed with the surfacenormals of the clearance openings in said plane, are provided on thetransport chamber, via which the latter communicates with stations, ofwhich, furthermore, one is a workpiece coating station. As in allembodiments of the coating installation according to the invention, herealso a pump unit is provided which, effective for the transport chamberas well as also for the coating station, communicates via a pump openingwith the transport chamber.

As stated, the pump opening is disposed on the transport chamber suchthat at least one of said rams, preferably each, can be oriented towardit. At least one of said rams comprises the closure configuration or canbe equipped therewith such that, with the orientation toward the pumpopening by being moved, can here also enter with the pump opening intoan operational connection forming a sealed closure.

If, in the preferred embodiment of the coating installation according tothe invention, and with respect to the rotational axis, the rams aredirected radially, the surface normal of the clearance area of the pumpopening is consequently also disposed in the rotational plane of saidrams.

While it is in principle known from DE 19 742 923 to close the pumpopening to one pump unit for flooding a transport chamber, the transportchamber provided on the installation known therefrom, however, comprisesas a workpiece transport configuration a solid carrier plate drivenabout a rotational axis, on whose one plate side, peripheral withrespect to the rotational axis, the workpieces are positioned. By axialraising or lowering of the carrier plate, all workpieces, given thecorresponding rotational angle orientation, are simultaneously movedtoward or moved away with respect to the stations flanged onto thecorresponding front face of the transport chamber wall. The platesurface opposing the transport surface of the carrier plate in the caseof flooding of the transport chamber, acts onto a pump opening such thatit closes it. This pump opening is disposed on the front face, with thefront face of the transport chamber opposing the stations. Thisinstallation meets none of the requirements according to the task madeof the installation according to the invention. For example it isevident:

-   -   the lifting mechanism for the transport plate must be layed out        such that in production it can not only supply the stations with        workpieces, but, in the much rarer case, can also be retracted        again for the purpose of closing the pump opening: the entire        installation must be developed especially for this “rare” case        alone.    -   Since this additional lift can only be minimized within limits,        namely to the extent that the pump effect is not to be choked        through the transport plate in production position, this leads        to structural enlargement and further complication of the        overall installation.    -   Relatively complex and expensive measures must be taken to        develop the carrier plate, which is locally heat loaded due to        the working, such that tight closing of the pump opening can be        accomplished at any time and independently of the rotational        position.    -   The transport plate, which, for the reason stated, must        occasionally be at relatively high mass, counteracts high        production rates in so far as during the incremental rotation of        this plate high inertial moments must be overcome, which        requires correspondingly expensive drives for high production        rates.

In a highly preferred embodiment of the coating installation accordingto the invention only two of the rams are provided which are disposed insaid plane offset by 180° with respect to the rotational axis.

If the rotation body is a cylinder or a cone with an aperture angle lessthan 90°, said only two rams are disposed in a plane containing saidrotational axis. In the case of the preferred embodiment, in which therotation body is degenerated into a cone with an aperture angle of 90°,said provided two rams are disposed opposite with respect to therotational axis and, in top view onto the rotational axis, offset by180°, consequently also in said plane containing the rotational axis.

In any event, through the two-ram embodiment optimally deep masses to bemoved with the transport configuration are realized, and it was foundthat the minimization of these masses, in view of the accelerationbehavior of a rotation stepping drive provided for the transportconfiguration, is significantly more effective than a concept with morethan two rams and a corresponding increase of the number of providedcoating stations. Through this preferred embodiment, consequently,simultaneously with critical simplification of the installation withinthe scope of the task of the invention (2), optimization of productivityis attained. This is accomplished through the option of realizing thetransport between the provided stations through rapid 180° rotationalangle steps.

In a highly preferred manner therein are also provided only two of thestations, of which the one is a lock station and the two operatingopenings—to the lock station and to the coating station—are offset by180° with respect to the rotational axis of the workpiece transportconfiguration.

If, as in the one of the preferred embodiments of the installationaccording to the invention, the rotation body is a cylinder or a conewith an aperture angle less than 90°, said operating openings aredisposed such that the surface normals of its clearance openings arealigned with shell lines of said rotation body and specifically withshell lines which oppose one another offset by 180°′ with respect to therotational axis, i.e. they lie in a plane which contains the rotationalaxis.

In the especially preferred embodiment of the installation according tothe invention, in which the rotation body is degenerated to a cone withan aperture angle of 90°, said operating openings viewed in thedirection of the rotational axis and, with respect to it, are disposedoppositely with radially directed surface normals.

In a preferred further development of the last cited embodiment, thepump opening between the operating openings and, with respect to them,is disposed preferably offset by 90°.

Consequently, in the one preferred embodiment of the installationaccording to the invention, in which the rotation body is a cylinder ora cone with an aperture angle less than 90°, the pump opening is againdisposed such that its surface normal is aligned with shell lines of thecorresponding rotation body, and it is preferably, viewed in thedirection of the rotational axis offset by 90° with respect to theoperating openings, disposed in-between.

In the especially preferred embodiment the latter applies identically:in view onto the rotational axis, the surface normals, which are nowdirected radially, of the operating openings appear to be oppositeoffset by an angle of 180° with the pump opening offset with respect toit by 90° and disposed in-between.

Therewith, on the one hand, it is achieved that in production operationthe pump effect is not impaired by the workpiece transportconfiguration; on the other hand, for the case of flooding throughcorresponding driving of the rotational drive alone for the workpiecetransport configuration, a 90°—instead of 180°—rotational angle step canbe initiated in order to bring one of the provided rams into anorientation toward the pump opening. Through the extension andretraction of the rams, provided in any event also for the production,the pump opening is closed or again released. Consequently, this doesnot require additional expenditures, since the ram under considerationcarries out said pump opening-related lift also during the productionwith respect to the operating opening.

It is therein further preferred to dispose a supplemental opening in thewall of the transport chamber opposite, with respect to the rotationalaxis, to the pump opening such that in the plane, preferably each offsetby 90°, four openings are provided. This supplemental opening can beemployed for a multiplicity of different purposes. It can, for example,together with the closure of the pump opening, if required, also beclosed, it can, when not in use, be closed with a cover, and, forexample, be employed for service work of every type and/or for measuringworkpiece parameters, such as for example for measuring coatingdistributions and/or coating thicknesses, etc.

Within the scope of as simple as feasible an installation concept (2),it is further preferably proposed that the interior volumes of thecoating station and of the transport chamber are connected via acommunication connection, not under control, i.e. without a controllablevalve configuration being provided in such a connection. Consequentlysuch a connection, as will yet be explained, is an uncontrolled bypassconnection.

In a further highly preferred embodiment of the installation accordingto the invention the coating station provided is a sputter station.

Even though the closure configuration provided at the ends of the ramsof the coating installation according to the invention can also beformed by disk-shaped workpieces themselves positioned thereon or byother members especially provided for this purpose, a further simplifiedconcept is attained thereby that the workpiece receivers are formed byworkpiece receiving plates, in each instance for at least onedisk-shaped workpiece, and that this plate forms the closureconfiguration. In principle, on the provided workpiece receivers in eachinstance one disk-shaped, especially preferred circular disk-shapedworkpiece, can be applicable so as to be centered with respect to theram axis, or, grouped about said ram axis two or more disk-shapedworkpieces, again clearly preferably circular disk-shaped workpieces.

Although it is further quite possible to provide on the coatinginstallation according to the invention only one or only a portion ofthe provided ram with the required closure configuration—to orient theparticular ram in the case of flooding toward the pump opening—in ahighly preferred embodiment on all rams said closure configuration isprovided and this, as stated, preferably also developed as a workpiececarrier plate. But therewith simultaneously the option is given ofclosing also the operating openings in production operation—as inflooding operation, the pump opening. If a lock station is provided, inthis case said closure configuration on the ram oriented to the lockstation acts directly as a lock valve and/or on the coating station saidclosure configuration of the ram, correspondingly oriented toward thisstation, separates the coating process from the transport chamber.

The installation according to the invention, in particular in itspreferred two-ram/two station configuration, is in particular suitablefor the fabrication of magnetic or optic storage disks, preferably opticstorage disks, therein in particular for the fabrication of CDs of alltypes, be these normal factory-recorded CDs, CDRs or CDRWs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following the invention will be explained by example inconjunction with figures which depict:

FIG. 1 schematically and simplified, a representation in partiallysectioned view onto a coating installation according to the invention inthe especially preferred embodiment;

FIG. 2 in a representation analogous to FIG. 1, a further partiallysectioned representation in a direction of view turned by 90° withrespect to the representation of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 schematically a coating installation according to the inventionin a further preferred embodiment, namely with cylindrical rotation bodydefined by the rotational motion of the ram; and

FIG. 4 in a representation analogous to FIG. 3, a coating installationaccording to the invention with conical rotation body defined by the rammotion, with a cone aperture angle <90°.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In FIGS. 1 and 2, the especially preferred coating installationaccording to the invention is shown, highly compact and conceptuallysimple, which leads to extremely short fabrication cycles.

The coating installation 1 according to the invention comprises atransport chamber 3. It is structured substantially rotationallysymmetric with respect to an axis A. Onto one wall portion 5 of thetransport chamber 3, substantially perpendicular to axis A, a controlledtransport drive 7 is flanged, preferably a stepping drive. Via anopening 9 in said wall 5 it drives a transport configuration 11 providedin transport chamber 3. On an axle end 13 of drive 7, projecting intothe transport chamber 3 are mounted two rams 15 opposing one anotherwith respect to axis A and thus to the driving rotational axis. Withrespect to axis A, they are radially projecting in a plane Eperpendicular to axis A. Upon its rotational motion ω about rotationalaxis A the rams 15 define a degenerated cone with a cone aperture angleφ=90°. Rams 15 comprise preferably, and as shown, bellows-encapsulatedlinear drives, by means of which each of the rams can be extendedradially with respect to axis A or be retracted, independently of oneanother, as indicated by the double arrows F. If, with respect to thelinear drives for the rams 15, independent drives are discussed, itmeans that they can be driven in any desired dependency from oneanother, thus also, for example, and preferably, synchronously.

At their ends, the rams 15 carry one workpiece receiving plate 17 each,whose plate surfaces 17 f are perpendicular to the ram axes A_(S).

In the wall of transport chamber 3 are disposed two operating openings.Onto the one, 19 _(B), a sputter station 21 is flanged. On the other, 19_(S) a lock station 23 is realized.

The two openings 19 _(B) and 19 _(S) oppose one another with theircentral opening surface normals N on transport chamber 3; they are thus,as is readily evident in FIG. 2, offset with respect to the axis A by arotational angle of 180° and with their central normal N, whichaccording to FIG. 1 coincides with axis A_(S), are also in plane E.Thus, the two openings 19 _(B) and 19 _(S) can each be servedsimultaneously by the rams 15, and therewith the particular providedstations 21 and 23, as is readily evident based on the ram positionshown in dashed lines of FIG. 2.

In FIG. 1 is shown a target 24 on sputter station 21 schematically indashed lines. A connection line 25 connects the sputter chamber processvolume P with the interior of the transport chamber 3. It is understoodthat the connection line 25, shown schematically for reasons of clarity,is integrated, for example, into the flange 26 for mounting the sputterstation 21 and/or into the wall of transport chamber 3, which is readilypossible in particular since said bypass connection is notvalve-controlled. Via this line 25 the interior volume of the transportchamber 3 and process volume of sputter station 21 communicatepermanently and form, if desired, intentionally a pressure stage.

As is further evident, the workpiece receiving plate 17 acts on theparticular ram 15 oriented to the lock station 23 as a lock valve facingthe transport chamber. The lock station 23, realized essentially withinthe wall thickness of the transport chamber 3, for circular disk-shapedworkpieces, in particular magnetic or optic storage disks, therein inparticular optic storage disks, preferably CDs of all types, such asCDRs or CDRWs, 27 is (not shown) evacuated through a separate pump portinto the minimized lock volume.

At the side of the atmosphere [pressure] the lock volume of the lockstation 23 is closed by a schematically depicted lock valve 29 which isin contact on the outside.

Analogously, the workpiece receiving plate 17 with the correspondinglyoriented ram 15 blocks the process volume P of the sputter station 21with respect to the interior volume of the transport chamber 3, wherebythe transport chamber is shielded from the process-chamber.

As is further evident in the Figures, in plane E and (see in particularFIG. 2) offset in each instance by 90° with respect to the operatingopenings 19 _(S) and 19 _(B), on the wall of the transport chamber 3 onepump opening 30 is provided and, in a preferred embodiment of the pumpopening 30, opposite with respect to axis A and furthermore in plane E,a further opening 32, which will be denoted as “service opening”.

On pump opening 30 is mounted a pump unit 34 (indicated in dashed linesin FIG. 1), preferably comprising a mechanical molecular pump, such asin particular a turbovacuum pump, for example a turbomolecular pumpand/or turbomolecular drag pump. If the service opening 32 is not neededor is only needed after the installation has been flooded, it is, asshown in FIG. 2, closed by means of a cover or a blind flange 36.Through this opening service work can be carried out or at this opening32 measurements can be carried out manually and/or measurementtransducers etc. can be installed (not shown).

As is in particular evident based on FIG. 2, one or both of the openings30 or 32 can be closed thereby that the rams 15 during the productionare not swivelled back and forth between the operating operations 19_(B) and 19 _(S) by, in each instance, 180° rotational angle steps, butrather are moved into an intermediate position, offset by 90° withrespect to said “operating positions”. If for any reason, but inparticular for a change of the target or the coating masks, the sputterstation 21 as the coating station and thus, due to the connection 25,also the transport chamber 3 are to be flooded, the one of the rams 15is swivelled into the intermediate rotational position shown in FIG. 2,and in particular the pump opening 30 is closed by applying theworkpiece receiving plate 17 as a closure configuration. If required,and as also shown in FIG. 2, with the second ram 15 the service opening32 can also be closed.

Thereby with an optimally simple and compact installation, the extremelycompact and simple transport configuration, which is utilized in anyevent for production operation, with rams 15 is also employed forcompartmentalizing the pump unit 34 during flooding.

With such a coating installation according to the invention a productioncycle rate of, for example 2.5 seconds, is attained. This means thatevery 2.0 seconds a coated workpiece disk is transported out. Forexample, therein on the sputter station 21 after a production coating of50,000 workpiece disks, a target change, and after a production coatingof, for example 5,000 workpiece disks, a mask change must be carriedout. Based thereon follows a necessary installation floodingapproximately after three hours in each instance for a mask change,after 28 operating hours for a target change. The necessary timeinterval to run a pump unit with turbovacuum pump again up, is at leastthree minutes. Even though this time interval appears to be short, yetwith a three-minute additional operating interruption of an installationwithout pump compartmentalization in the case of flooding, a roughly twopercent productivity reduction results, which, given the above listednumbers, corresponds to a productivity loss of approximately 250,000workpieces annually. Added to this is the shortening of the service lifeof the sensitive mechanical molecular pump, which is of particularimportance. With the installation according to the invention, saidadditional operation interruption interval is no longer necessary andthe pump reaches the best possible service life since it does not needto be run up and down again.

In FIG. 3 is shown schematically a further embodiment of the coatinginstallation according to the invention. Its structure is readilycomprehensible by a person skilled in the art based on the explanationsoffered so far. For functionally identical parts the

same reference symbols are used, such as have already been employed inconnection with the explanations in connection with FIGS. 1 and 2.

The two rams 15 are disposed parallel to the rotational axis A, incontrast to the especially preferred embodiment according to FIGS. 1 and2. They consequently define a cylinder during their rotational motion wabout axis A. Preferably again two rams are provided disposed oppositelyby 180° with respect to axis A, which rams act onto the stations 21 and23 shown schematically. The center opening normals N of the clearanceareas of the openings connecting the transport chamber 3 with stations21 or 23, are oriented to the shell lines of the cylinder defined by theram rotational motion. The pump opening 30 for pump unit 34 and the, ifappropriate, provided service opening 32 (not shown) are disposed offsetby 90° with respect to operating openings to stations 21 or 23 withidentically oriented surface normals N.

According to FIG. 4 the two rams define in their rotational motion aboutthe rotational axis A a cone with a cone angle φ of less than 90°.Again, the center surface normals N of the clearance area of theoperating openings to stations 21—preferably a sputter station—and23—preferably a lock station—are oriented such that they are alignedwith generating or shell lines of the cone defined by the rams 15 duringtheir rotational motion. The same applies to the schematically shownpump opening 30, provided according to the invention, on which, forreasons of clarity, a pump port 31 is shown schematically in FIG. 4.

Here too, viewed in the direction of rotational axis A, the operatingopenings to stations 21 or 23 are preferably disposed offset by 180°,while the pump opening 30 and the possibly provided service opening (notshown) are disposed again offset by 90° with respect to the operatingopenings.

Consequently, with the installation according to the invention, on theone hand, an extremely high production rate is achieved, due to thesimple installation developed only with small moving masses, on whichthe productivity is additionally optimized thereby that productionshutdown times are significantly reduced. Due to the pumpcompartmentalization forming an essential part of the present invention,shutdown times for maintenance, such as for example and in particulartarget change and/or mask change, are minimized and reduced to thosetimes which are, in practice, actually necessary for maintenance.Reconditioning times or time for running up the pump unit again becomeunnecessary.

1. A coating apparatus for disk-shaped workpieces, comprising: atransport chamber (3); and a workpiece transport configuration (11)which comprises; at least two linearly extendable and retractabletransport rams (15) driven under control and connected with a rotationalaxis (A) driven under control, which are within shell lines of arotation body about the rotational axis (A) and which can be extendedand retracted in the same direction with respect to a direction on therotational axis; and a workpiece receiver (17) at the ends on each ram(15); at least two operating openings (19 _(B), 19 _(S)) by which thetransport chamber (3) communicates with stations (21, 23), of which oneis a coating station, wherein the surface normals (N) of the operatingopenings are directed in the direction of shell lines of the rotationbody; a pump unit (34), communicating via a pump opening (30) with thetransport chamber (3), for the transport chamber (3) as well as also forthe coating station (21); and wherein at least one of the rams (15)comprises at its end a closure configuration (17) or can be equippedtherewith, is orientable toward the pump opening and the closureconfiguration, and, with orientation of the ram (15) onto the pumpopening (30) and subsequently its extension (F), enters into anoperational connection forming a sealed closure.
 2. A coating apparatusas claimed in claim 1, wherein the rotation body is a cylinder or a coneand the rams under linear driving can be extended and retracted parallelor obliquely to the rotational axis.
 3. A coating apparatus as claimedin claim 1, wherein the rotation body is a cone with a 90° apertureangle, the rams project radially from the rotational axis (A) and theoperating openings and the pump opening with their opening surfacenormals (N) are located in the rotational plane of the rams about therotational axis.
 4. A coating apparatus as claimed in claim 1, whereintwo of the rams (15) are provided which are disposed offset by 180° withrespect to the rotational axis (A), wherein also only two of thestations (21, 23) are provided, of which the one is a lock station (23)and the two operating openings (19 _(B), 19 _(S)) oppose one anotherwith respect to the rotational axis (A).
 5. A coating apparatus asclaimed in claim 4, wherein the pump opening (30) is disposed in a plane(E) and, with respect to the rotational axis (A) and the operatingopenings (19 _(B), 19 _(S)), is disposed offset by 90° between thelatter, wherein further, opposing the pump opening (3) with respect tothe rotational axis (A), a supplemental opening (32) is disposed in thewall of the transport chamber (3).
 6. A coating apparatus as claimed inclaim 1, wherein the workpiece coating station (21) and the transportchamber (3) are connected via a communication connection (25) not undercontrol.
 7. A coating apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein thecoating station (21) is a sputter station.
 8. A coating apparatus asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the workpiece receiver is formed by aworkpiece receiving plate (17) for at least one disk-shaped workpiece(27) and this plate (17) forms the closure member.
 9. A coatingapparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the closure configuration (17)is provided on all rams (15) and is developed as a workpiece carrierplate.
 10. A coating apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein theclosure configuration (17) with orientation of the particular ram (15)onto one of the operating openings (19) and its extending out (F) entersinto an operational connection with the particular opening (19) forminga closure.
 11. A coating apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein theclosure configuration (17) is formed by a workpiece (27) placed onto theram (15).
 12. A coating apparatus as claimed in claim 1, with means forfabrication of magnetic or optic storage disks.
 13. A coating apparatusas claimed in claim 12 with means for the fabrication of CDs.